Elephant boy and the Thief on the Cross

Two case presentations for a Sunday afternoon:

Elephant Boy

Last week, a 16 year old Masaii boy was assaulted by an elephant. One full day after the event, he was found in the Kenya savannas and was alive (a miracle in itself) His injuries include a gaping chest wound via elephant tusk, through which the his lung was visible (I have pictures if anyone is interested!), tusk laceration to his thigh (barely missing his femoral artery) and laceration to his neck (also barely missing a vital structure-- the carotid sheath). Over night he did well, until the morning when his heart stopped beating and he had to be resuscitated. The kid is one of the most resilient patients I have ever seen, as he is still fighting the ICU. In fact, we predict he will recover fully at this point.

The case presentation from Morning Report: 16 yo M assaulted by elephant...

The Masaii people often are brought to Tenwek Hospital because it is the closest hospital to the savannas where they live. They are one of the larger tribes in Kenya, but unlike most of the other tribes, many of them have chosen to continue in their traditional way of living, culture and dress. Many have also continued in their traditional occupation-- as cattle herders. One would think the most feared creature they face would be one of the big cats-- the lion, leopard, or cheetah. In reality the elephants are the most dangerous, as the young warrior above found out.

One of the nurses I work with in Casualty, Robert, grew up around elephants near Mt Elgon in Western Kenya. His family has learned several secrets to escape.

Ways to escape an elephant:

1. They are scared of fire, so get a torch! They have long memories and remember when they were hunted for tusks.

2. Run downhill. The elephant's huge ears will flap in front of his eyes so they can't see

3. Most importantly, RUN! Elephants only run as fast as humans walk so we can outrun them (though I need to ask Robert if his standard for running is based on the average human speed or a Kenyan runner?). Also, change directions when you run, b/c elephant have difficulty with this.

The Thief on the Cross

The second case presented to Casualty a few weeks ago. There was 50 year old man H. with visible epigastric mass. Work-up revealed a hepatocellular carcinoma with metasasis to the adrenal glands. In the US this is a poor prognosis, here it is a death sentence. H. was talking about how he would seek help from the local witch doctors. My friend Moses and I shared how only God could comfort him through this trial and we challenged him to consider where he would be when he died, which in all likelihood would not be a long time.

We encouraged H. with some passages (Ps 23, Is 43:1, Phil 4 among them) and shared our Faith. H. came to faith in Christ that day, maybe days to weeks before his time would come. Consider Luke 23:39-43, as it is never too late:

³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?

⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

⁴³ Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”